Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Ordinary and extraordinary: 2013 goes down in Vatican history

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The helicopter carrying Pope Benedict XVI passes the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as the retired pope returns to the Vatican May 2, 2013. Pope Benedict’s resignation and the election of Pope Francis are among the events of 2013 summarized in the Vatican’s annual report for that year. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)   VATICAN CITY — […]

Second video shows Planned Parenthood doctor discussing fees for fetal parts

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Bev Ehlen, state director of Concerned Women for America, holds a sign outside of a Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis July 21. She was among several pro-life supporters demonstrating after the release of two videos that showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the method and price of providing fetal tissue obtained from abortions for medical […]

Scientific evidence shows the destructive nature of pornography

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WASHINGTON — The Catholic Church’s strong stance against pornography is based on church teaching that the human body should be respected and every person has a God-given dignity. But the fight against pornography is not unique to religious organizations. “This is not a moral issue. We now have science to back this up,” said Dawn […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: What songs may be sung at funerals?

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Q: Recently, the funeral of Beau Biden (the vice president’s son) was televised nationally. The hymns consisted mainly of show tunes and songs by popular artists. In our own parish, as well as in hundreds of others, the use of nonliturgical songs would not be permitted. Why are the politically elite given “passes” that ordinary […]

The pope’s ‘staycation’: Correspondence, trip preparation fill his days

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VATICAN CITY — Returning to the Vatican in the midst of a heat wave after an eight-day, three-country trip to South America, Pope Francis took the kind of vacation he said he prefers: what has become known as a “staycation.” With the exception of a July 21 meeting with a group of mayors from around […]

Pope urges international activists to stand up to an ‘idolatrous’ financial system that ‘excludes, debases, kills’

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Pope Francis greets a young girl at the second World Meeting of Popular Movements in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, July 9. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)   SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia — Meeting with an international gathering of grassroots activists, Pope Francis not only encouraged, but tried to add fuel to their fire for “standing up to an idolatrous […]

Pope’s itinerary imperatives: the poor, the prisoner, the sick, the excluded

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Pope Francis arrives to meet people at a house in Banado Norte, a poor neighborhood in Asuncion, Paraguay, July 12. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)   ASUNCION, Paraguay — With almost every step Pope Francis takes on his foreign trips and with his every embrace, he pleads for dialogue and inclusion. His denunciations of a “throwaway culture” […]

Pope says he’ll read critiques of his economic thought before U.S. trip

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PARAGUAY — Before arriving in the United States in September, Pope Francis said, he will study American criticisms of his critiques of the global economy and finance. “I have heard that some criticisms were made in the United States — I’ve heard that — but I have not read them […]